Students
Rutgers Junior Selected for Coveted Internship at The Weather Channel in Atlanta
While other children his age watched cartoons, the only shows that held Scott Sincoff’s attention were on The Weather Channel.
One of his earliest childhood memories is driving to Florida with his parents during a severe thunderstorm that seemed to be in sync with the classical music playing on the radio. On a trip to Miami to see his aunt and uncle after Hurricane Andrew, he found himself fascinated by their stories of the storm which had destroyed their home and the process of rebuilding.
“That is how I became interested in the level of destruction from the weather and how it could affect people,’’ Sincoff said.
By the time he was 5, Sincoff had figured out what he wanted to do when he grew up: work at The Weather Channel. This summer, before the start of his senior year at Rutgers, he will have his chance. Sincoff, 21, of Monroe, was one of two students chosen out of 100 candidates for a summer internship in The Weather Channel’s newsroom.
Starting June 4, Sincoff will spend 10 weeks working in Atlanta and writing sound bites, making graphics, learning about different camera shots and doing production work. He will also have a chance to produce a mini newscast to gain professional experience on camera.
Karen Monroe, The Weather Channel’s newsroom internship coordinator and Weather Center Live producer, had been impressed with Sincoff’s positive attitude. She said she was looking for candidates with strong writing skills and attention to detail and added that the internship program is an important step for students to figure out what they want to do.
“It’s your whole life, your whole career,’’ Monroe said. “If you don’t get an internship to get a glimpse of what it is going to be like, you are flying blind.’’
When Sincoff posted his summer plans on his Facebook page, he said he received 201 likes because his friends knew what it meant to him.
“This is my dream and it’s actually happening,’’ Sincoff said. “I know if I do really well this could mean so much for me in future job prospects. It means so much to me now because this is what I have been working for my entire life.’’
Sincoff has some experience at Rutgers giving a weather forecast. During his first year on campus, he was part of the WeatherWatcher Living –Learning Community, a program started in 2009 that provides an opportunity for weather lovers to live together while learning to broadcast weather information to the New Brunswick Campus.
Sincoff is currently the associate producer for RU-tv WeatherWatcher forecasts, which air twice daily on RU-tv and also on Rutgers radio 88.7 WRSU. His primary interest is how weather affects people - something he saw firsthand last fall when Hurricane Irene caused major flooding near his home in Monroe. He is planning to work on an honors thesis that looks at how social media can be used to improve response to major weather events. Sincoff’s ultimate goal is to be able to teach people about the science of weather on television to create an understanding of why meteorological events happen.
Steven Miller, internship coordinator for the Department of Journalism and Media Studies in the School of Communication and Information, said Sincoff is the first student from the WeatherWatcher Living- Learning community to intern with The Weather Channel.
“This gives Scott the chance to study under the best and take his own knowledge base to the next level,’’ Miller said. “It can make all the difference in the world having the number one name in broadcast weather on his resume.’’
For Sincoff, it is also a chance to get a peek at what it would be like to work at his dream job.
“I have been watching The Weather Channel since before I knew what weather was,’’ Sincoff said. “All my friends know this is what I want to do. I am a weather man.’’
